The Transformation Quiche Test

Today is the Coronation of King Charles the Third. And leading up to this day there has been something curious brewing. 

I'm talking about the now infamous ‘Coronation Quiche’ that was personally chosen by the King and Queen and developed as the signature dish for their coronation celebrations. A simple quiche. 

And then last week this happened:

Évelyne Muller-Dervaux, the grand master of the Brotherhood of the Quiche Lorraine described the quiche as ‘a savoury tart’ rather than a proper quiche. The  Brotherhood insist there is only one version of quiche and that’s a Quiche Lorraine. Others then started piling in, describing it as a flan!

The recipe has transformed the quiche into something exciting and new. I'm quite partial to a quiche so I had to have a go at baking it. My pastry skills have never been great but the recipe was very simple to follow so opted to make the pastry rather than buying a pre-made pie crust or ready roll pastry. Then after making the pastry, resting it, rolling it, resting it again, blind baking the pastry, filling it with savoury custard and then baking it, I was pleased with what came out of the oven. 

So, just go with me on this, but this quiche story is a perfect metaphor for transformation.  

Many things seem to get labelled as transformational these days. But when is something truly transformational? And when is something not? Making a few tweaks to a process, a minor organisation change or introducing a new system upgrade aren’t really ‘transformational’ moments are they? They are improvements. Changes. Tweaks. 

Transformation is taking something and radically rethinking it to deliver something amazing. Not tweaks, nips and tucks. Something new and different where people are led on a transformation journey to deliver it. 

So next time you come across something that is described as ‘transformational’, do a quick quiche test! Is what is being described really a quiche? Or is it a flan?

Here is my Coronation Quiche. And here is to King Charles, whom I will toast today with a slice! 👑🥧